WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Apollo moonwalk 25 years ago may have been an illusion. That's the belief of 9 per cent of Americans surveyed in a recent poll. The survey, published in the Washington Post, found that black people were the most sceptical: 20 per cent said it is possible the Apollo moon landing never took place on 20 July, 1969, while 16 per cent were unsure.

"It was a way for the government to hide some more of the money they've blown," 40-year-old Debbie Dunham told the newspaper. "Of course, blacks are going to be more sceptical. They have probably less reason to believe the government than anybody."

Some sceptics believe there is a broader government plot to fool the public.

Charles Johnson, president of the anti-space Flat Earth Society, said the hoax was exposed in the 1978 film Capricorn One, in which the United States fakes a Mars landing. One actor in that film was the former football star O J Simpson, who is now accused of two murders. According to Mr Johnson, the film "proved the entire government space programme is a hoax. They're finally going after O J because he helped unmask the space hoax."